Jason Nalley
Kansas City,#2Author of original report
Sat, June 18, 2011
Now that the subject takes care of the apology for my confusion of your sex, you must have sucked as a paralegal, just saying. When 3 ACTUAL Lawyers, who have passed the bar exam in the states of Kansas and Missouri, have looked at it and told me it was good I didn't sign it, there's a problem.
Next, I've seen PLENTY of corporate photography done by Olan Mills, while they do specialize in Family Portraits, corporations do go to other corporations to get their pictures done, and Olan Mills has a large number of corporate clients. I know this for 2 reasons, 1) I've worked in corporate America most of my Adult life and have had pictures taken by Olan Mills for this purpose, and 2) There's several job postings on career builder and monster from Olan Mills (or at least were when I was looking for a job), for portrait photography that clearly stated in the description "working with corporate clients" and "Corporate Portraits" and "Pictures for Business Cards". The other thing you should take away from this, is that Olan Mills also does travel to their clients, just as Image1 does, in fact, the corporate end of things for Olan Mills, sounds very close to what the lady from Image1 was describing to me over the phone. My real point to all of this is, no matter where you work in photography, businesses will go to what they can afford, if they can only afford Olan Mills, they'll go there, if they can afford to spend more, they'll go somewhere better. Don't turn your nose down at something because you are some hoity-toity wannabe photographer who thinks she's awesome because she has a degree from Nossi college of art, and takes pictures of mangled faced rednecks in Tennessee.
Also, on the subject of education, Image1 was willing to hire another friend of mine with a GED, not that education has anything at all to do with Photography to begin with, he turned them down because the pay wasn't where he needed it to be, so I don't even know why you brought that up.
Now question, Being an ex-paralegal, would you advise someone to sign an NDA with less than 24 hours before an interview, that doesn't specify if the terms are after you get the job or not, and states that you may not work at any company that competes with the company the NDA is for? Lets not even use Image1 as an example here, since you so vehemently believe what you believe. Lets take this same NDA, and apply it to AT&T business class phone service, would you advise one of your lawyers clients to sign this very same NDA when it applies there? If you would advise them as such, you were just a bad paralegal and probably left because it wasn't your thing and you didn't comprehend, or got fired for good reason. The person signing this NDA, even if they didn't get the job, couldn't go work for Verizon, nor could they work at any other company offering business class phone service. If you think I am wrong, I think you need to go back to law school.
Lastly, if you read what I posted initially, and the reply to your rebuttal, you will clearly see that the legal portion of it was only PART of the problem. When I asked to give me an extra day or 2 so I could have a lawyer look it over, since they failed to get it to me in a decent amount of time (Sunday late Afternoon, and my interview was on Monday mid-day), I was responded to with what is quite possibly the shortest and worst e-mail from a hiring manager I could ever think of. Any company, no matter who you are, that's unwilling to give someone 48-72 hours to look over, double check, and sign a legally binding document, that could potentially block any further career moves in their chosen field, is a company that I would view as shady, underhanded, and very unforgiving. It's also a company that I wouldn't want to work for, so no harm no foul. However, I believe people have a right to know, and the fact that another guy went through something similar and felt the need to post here, only proves that my case is not unheard of, which further compounds the need for my original post.
Once again, HONOUR, I am very glad that you like the company and things are going so well for you, I just hope that one day they don't try and enforce the terms of this NDA on you. I feel you should know Image1 also did event photography in the past and might still, for AT LEAST family reunions, this is according to their website, which also means, if you have a friend hire you to do some freelance work at her family reunion, you might be in breach there too. Maybe you should learn to look before you leap, all I know, is that you need to get off your moral high horse and quit speaking about things you obviously fail at.
Honour McLeod
Portland,#3UPDATE Employee
Sat, June 18, 2011
As I stated earlier....get your facts straight before you speak. You called me "sir." My name is HONOUR McLeod...HONOUR pronounced HONOR. I am NOT a "sir" thank you very much. I worked as a paralegal in Florida and I know how to read...well. The places you stated working for, I can assure you, will in NO way be competing against Image 1 Studios. To work at Olan Mills, Sears, Walmart Picture Me Studios, just to name a few requires a high school diploma, only. They are no threat to Image 1 Studios, as most individuals in the corporate world will not have their photos taken at these places. I am sorry you feel Image 1 Studios is a sham. There is an elite group of photographers employed by Image 1 that knows for a fact it is not a sham. Have no fear of me filing further rebuttals; I was taught at a very young age not to enter into a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Jason Nalley
Kansas City,#4Author of original report
Fri, June 17, 2011
To the Employee,
I have clearly posted the NDA that they asked me to sign. It's in there, try reading it. What they have told you may be true, maybe they don't care about it. However, legally speaking, according to now 3 lawyers who have read this NDA, if they wanted to, they could come after you. Take the NDA to your own lawyer (the one I posted) and have them read it.
I will briefly put the concerning line here: For a period of 5 years, or as long as is enforceable by the laws of the State of Kansas, whichever is longer. After the effective date of this Agreement, photographer/applicant will not directly or indirectly engage in any business that competes with Image 1. This covenant shall apply to the geographical area that includes within a 50 mile radius of any offices or associated offices wherein Image 1 operates in all states depending on enforceability utilizing states' laws
The above lines show you that you may not work for any business that competes with Image 1. It doesn't say reveal marketing secrets, it doesn't say steal business from them, it flat out says you may not work for anyone or engage in any business with anyone that is a potential image 1 studios client. Like I said, they may not adhere to this, but they can legally. AND to top it all off, this is regardless of if you get the job with them or not. So, sir, perhaps you should read the entire post before you respond again. While you're at it, please read the circumstances behind why I ultimately didn't get the job or even the interview, they scheduled an interview with me, and gave me less than 24 hours to read the document, and then, when I requested that a lawyer be allowed to see it, I was basically told "sorry you feel that way, goodbye". No understanding, no compassion, no care. I wouldn't work for a company like this even if the NDA wasn't as legally confining as it is.
My point is, odds are this job will pan out for you, and be great. You'll get paid, have a steady income, and most likely be happy. But if you happen to be that 1 out of 1000 people that they decide to go after legally for any reason. Your boys are in a bind, seriously. Maybe you need to read more carefully, and maybe you should have an objective lawyer read it without giving them any foreshadowing into your feelings about the company. Just saying dude, that NDA is BAD.
Honour McLeod
Portland,#5UPDATE Employee
Fri, June 17, 2011
My name is Honour McLeod. I was recently hired by Image 1 Studios. I too read the NDA agreement over and over again. If you read it correctly it does NOT state anywhere that we cannot and will not work for studios such as Olan Mills, Sears, etc. As a matter of fact I am free to do other freelance work that I choose as long as I do not try and take away business from Image 1 Studios, or tell others how to do what Image 1 Studios is doing. As long as I let them know at least three weeks in advance that I am doing a free lance job, I am free to do so. I watched Lawrence go through the motions of day to day operations, from setting up, to working with clients, etc. I can honestly say that this is a legitimate company with very high standards. I feel honored (no pun intended) that Lawrence hired me as one of his photographers. Yes, his standards are very high, photography skills have to be met, editing skills have to be met, but it is for good reason. There is nothing wrong with an owner hiring only those who qualify. I am 8 weeks away from officially having my associates degree in Commercial Photography. Not just anyone can do this job. If you own a camera, that does not make you a photographer. You have to know what you are doing otherwise you are not a photographer, just a camera owner. Before you slander someone you really need to know all of the facts. I commend Image 1 Studios for having such high standards; customers should have only the best. And I also commend Image 1 Studios for wanting to protect their company and ensure no one "steals" their ideas and takes away from what they have worked so hard for. After all, they are no different then Coca Cola! They too have employee's sign contracts stating that they will not "sell" the recipe!! Every one has the right to protect their investment. It is called COPY RIGHTS!! Image 1 Studio's has every right to Copy Right their ideas and work! .
Oh, and the person that states that Image 1 Studios has the right to take our equipment...that is just ludicrous!! The images that we take with our camera belongs to Image 1 Studios, NOT the camera! There is a huge difference!
As for there being no images to view online...it's called right to privacy. Not all clients want their photos out on the internet for all to see. Especially when they pay to have the rights to those photos.
I will get off my soap box now, but in the future try and refrain from bashing companies or people that work for those companies when you obviously have no idea what you are talking about.